Build Now or Wait for Windows 8?

For partners and enterprises on the
fence about whether to build now or wait for Windows 8, Dallas said they should
build now.
"Intelligent systems are here
today," Dallas said in a statement. "They exist all around us. And
now you can build amazing intelligent systems today on the Windows Embedded
platforms, knowing you'll have a direct path to upgrade and enhance those
systems as Windows 8 rolls out."

Moving forward, enterprises can capture
from devices data such as information about end-user collection practices or
real-time information for connected cars, Dallas said.

Microsoft is supplying the capability
for customers to tap into Big Data. Dallas said the company's Server and Tools
unit has created a new service that is part of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2.
Known as StreamInsight,
it enables companies to monitor multiple data streams and analyze the data in
real time. Long term, the company envisions businesses having a wide variety of
specialized devices that are tied into the cloud as part of a broad intelligent
system strategy, allowing them to leverage industry-specific services or
data-analysis capabilities that provide greater business insight.
Windows Embedded has already made
progress through the release last March of Windows
Embedded Device Manager. Leveraging the power of Microsoft
System Center Configuration Manager, it gives IT staffs the ability to control
intelligent systems that are distributed across the company's IT network.
Over the course of the next 18 to 24
months, Microsoft will deliver a series of products and services that accrue to
this goal. For example, the company is developing an advanced
machine-to-machine (M2M) connection manager, code-named "Pontecchio,"
to streamline the way devices connect to network services in order to make the
data streams more predictable and efficient. In addition, Microsoft is
investing in security and identity management technology to ensure the data
streams are capable of working seamlessly with on-premises, private and public
cloud services. This will help make it easier for IT staffs to maintain the
security of a network and its data.

"Separate from local analytics, on
the back end there is a need for cloud analytics," Dallas said. "So
we're working with the Azure team to ensure Windows Azure works with our
intelligent systems."
Moreover, "If a customer wants to
market the data they capture from their intelligent systems, we can provide a
market through Azure Data Market," Dallas told eWEEK. "We want to provide a marketplace for data. The
revolution that happened around phones and the Internet ... we see the same
transformation happening around connected devices and intelligent systems. But
it doesn't come together without a strong ecosystem."

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.